Wardrobe-trunk



Patented Nov. 3o, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I- INVENTOR 550065 ,559 WA/0F# (i. SACHNOFF.

, WARDROBE TRUNK. APPLICATION FILED MAY I5. I9I9.

1,860,448, Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- G. SACHNOFF.

WARDROBE TRUNK. APP'LICAHON FILED ram/15.1919.

1,360,448. y Patented Nov. 30,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N f-N BY I I l .ff-ATTORNEY GEORGE SACHNOFE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

WARDROBE-TRUNK.

Specification of Letters Patent.- Pgltnted Nv, 30, 1920.

Application led May 15, 1919. Serial No. 297,200.

To @ZZ whom t muy concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE SAcHNoFF, a citizen of Russia, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVardrobe-Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

The invention pertains more particularly` to locking mechanism for the drawers of wardrobe trunks.` Tardrobe trunks comprise a wardrobe section and a drawer section, and it is Jfrequently desirable to allow the trunk to stand open so that the contents of the wardrobe section may be readily gotten at, while at the same time it is frequently very desirable that the drawers inthe drawer section of the trunk be securely locked. My invention resides in durable andcomparatively inexpensive mechanism whereby all of the drawers of the drawer section of the trunk may be securely locked. The mechanisin of my invention comprises a vertical locking bar carrying a lock and a series of keepers secured to convenient portions of the trunk, as the back or the sides or the partitions, adapted to receive upper and lower portions of the locking bar and to be secured thereto,-to one of said keepers bythe bolt oi the lock carried by said bar, said bar being held at its other end in one of the keepers" without the necessity for a further lock. The locking bar is slotted near its upper portion to engage one of the keepers, and at this keeper the lock carried by said bar is utilized to secure the bar thereto. The keeper or keepers at the lower end of the trunk section are slotted to receive the lower portion of thc locking bar, which bar cannot be withdrawn from such lower keeper or keepers, eX- cept after by the operation of the lock the upper portion of said bar is relieved from locking engagement with its keeper.

The-invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being' had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is an elevation, partly broken away, of: a wardrobe trunk standing on end and in open condition, the drawer section of the trunk being equipped with the locking mechanism of my invention;

Fig. 2`is a vertical section of the same,

taken on the dotted line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a detachedfrontelevation, partly i broken away, of the locking bar 'lock' and keepers, the keepers being fastened tothe trunk and the locking bar being adapted to i engage and be engaged by the same, the bolt, of the lock in this instance being in its con-k cealed position, with the locking bar merely applied to said keepers;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the f same, taken on the dotted line 4 4 of Fig. 8, showing the bolt of the lock by dotted lilies as having been moved upwardly to engage the lower surface of the outer end of the upper keeper for preventing the withdrawal of the locking bar from the keepers;

Fig 5 is a detached perspective view of the upper keeper shown in Figsl to 4 inelusive; p

Fig. 6 is acorresponding view of the lower keeper, shown in Figs'. l to 4 inclusive;

Fig. 'T is a vertical section, partlybrokcn away, through a portion ofthe drawers of the trunk and illustrating a modified construction of both the keepers and the locking f mechanism of my invention; p Fig. 8 is a `front elevation, partly broken away, of the keepers and locking mechanism presented in Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a detached perspective view,

partly broken away, of a modified construction of upper keeper which will be utilized in trunks in which the drawers are not sepa-` rated by partitions and in which it may be desired to secure the keeper to thebottom of the trunk or what would be the back of the drawer section of the trunk when the trunk is standing on its end;

o Fig. l0 is a corresponding view of a lower keeper which may be utilized under the same conditions that-the keeper shown in Fig. 9Y

would be secured;

Fig. 11 `is a front elevation, partlyboken.,

away, of a modified form of thelocking mechanism of my invention, the bolt of the 7 lock in this instance passing through a slot in the keeper instead of up against the lower surfaceof the outer end of the keeper in thel manner indicated in Fig. 4;.V

Fig. 12 is a vertical section through aporf tion of the same, taken on the dotted line 12-12 of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a face view of the upper portion of the locking bar and its lock, this ligure bein?,nr presented to clearly show the slot in the locking bar which is to be moved upon the upper keeper, and

Fig. 14C is a transverse section, partly broken away, of the locking` mechanism, taken on the dotted line 14e- 14 ot' Fig. 11.

In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 to G inclusive, 10 designates a wardrobe trunk of theV usual construction, having a wardrobcl section 11 and a drawer-section 12, these lieing secured together by hinges 13 andadapted to be openedl outwardly from each other,` and stood `on end, asI indicate in Figs. 1 and 2, in which 14 designates the several sliding drawers the drawer-sectionA of the trunk. The purpose ot' my in vention, as hereinbetore indicated, is to provide suitable means torv securely locking the drawers 14 in' t-heir closed position. The drawers 14 areA ot usualror any suitableconstruction, and the lockingancchanism of my invention, which `also performs other duties, consists of a vertical steel bar 15 of durable size in cross=sectionwhich extends,vertically alongithe fronts of* the drawers 1a and' is securedv in ixedfposition` in connectionk with upper and lower keepers 16, 17, respectively, (Figs. 5 and 6) against the. trontso't the drawers 14:, so that saidy drawers cannot be opened, exceptl by an authorized person. The bar 15 is simply a plain Hat bar having` secured upon one lace of the upper portion thereoi5 arlockzlS equipped with a key-slot 1S) and vertically operatingbolt 20. The lock 1S may be an ordinary Yale lock or any suitable lock possessing the bolt 20. "he bar 15 plain and iat and has the lock 1S riveted against the face thereof', and said bar extends-from just above the handle of the upper drawer 141 to about the handle oi the lower drawer 14t The bar 15 `is 'formed immediately above the lock 19 with what may be termed a keyhole slot or openiin;vv which is wider at1 its lower portion than at its upper portion, -which I' number 8l, as shown more particularly in llio'- 3.

The upper keeper 16 is in torni oi' an outwardly projecting` tongue scoured to or integral with a bar 22 extending` 'troni side to side of the drawer section 12 ot the trunk and having right angular ear portions A3 which are securely riveted or otherwise iastened to the inner oppositelfaces o't said sides. 'Il e bar 22 by beingv secured to thc sidesgot` the" drawer section l2 o't'the trunk operates asa braceior stay to tie said sides in rigidrelationto each other and materially` strengthen the trunk. `The tongue portion whichconstitutesthe keeper 1G extends outwardly and is formed at its outer end with a head 24 andishoulders 25, theshoul ders 25 being formed by cutting out the material from behind the head 24, and in making the head 24 less in width than the'body of the tongue or keeper 16, as shown more particularly inlligr, 5. The head24t is con* neeted by a neck with the body ot' the keeper 16, and at the sides of said neck is separated by spaces equal to the thickness ot the bar 15, which in the final application of the mechanism becomes engaged betwecnthe lateral portions of the head 24 and thel shoulders 25 of the body portion ot the keeper or tongue 16, as hereinafter explained. The lower keeper 17 is also in the form of an outwardly projecting' tongue which is integralwith or secured to a transverse bar Set extending` between the sides ot the drawer-section 12 of the trunk and hav-` ing right angular ears securely fastened to.y said sides, said bar 84, the same as the bar 22, serving as a brace to connect the sides of the trunksection 12 and add ron: siderable strength and rigidity to the trunk. The keeper 17 projects outwardly beyond thev facev oithe lower drawers 14.-, and in the construction shown in Fig. 6 has a plain vertical slot 26 in its outer end adapted to permit the passage therethrough ot the lower portion of the bar 15, as shown in Figs. 1i. 2, 3 and 4, The key-hole slot or opening S0 in the upper portion of the locking ba. may, when so elevated that the lower wider portion of said slot is opposite to the head 241- ot the keeper 16, be moved over said head and agniinst the shoulders 25 of said keep-wr lo and thereuponwhen said locking bar is permitted to lower, by gravity, the upper narrower portion 810i the slot or opening S0 passes behind the laterally projecting` por tions oit' the head 24 and becomesI inclosrd between the head 2d and the shoulders 5, so that when said opening is in this position, the upper portion ol" the bar l5 cannot be moved outwardly from the keeper lo until said bar 15 -has'been elevated so as to car y the wider lower portion ot the openirg;l or slot 80 into line with thc` bead 24, upon the happening oi"r which the upper portion oit the bar 15 may be withdrawn fimitivardli' from the keeper 16. In applying the lock ing' bar 15' to position I first insertthe lower portion thereof through the slot 26 el' lower keeper 17 and then more the bar lo. fard the upper keeper 16, causing' the wider portion of the slot S0 yto pass over the head 2a ot said keeper and thereupon I permit said bar 15 to lower so that the narrower portion 81 of theopening 80 may pass upon the neck connecting the head 24- with the body of the keeper 16' and thatportions of the bar V15 may become caught between the lateral end portions of said head and the shoulders 25, after which I apply a key to the lock 184 and drive the bolt 20 ot the lock upwardly against the under side oi the head 24. When the bolt 20 has been thrust fupwardly against the under surface of the head 24 it will retain the locking bar 15 in position behind said head 24 so that said bar cannotbe elevated upwardly to release it from the head 24, nor move rontwardly from said head. The bar 15 thus becomes locked to the keeper `16 by the coaction of the Vhead 24 and bolt 20 against either upward-movement or downward movement or ron'tward movement, the result being that` the bar 15 cannot be released from the top drawer 14 nor from the keeper 17 adjacent to the bottom drawer 14. All of the drawers 14 will thus become locked in closed posi-` tion of the bar 15 may be' moved front` wardly from saidhead 24 and then the bar 15 may be slid upwardly so as to carry its lower portion from the keeper 17. yAll of the drawers 14 will then have` been unlocked, and the bar -15 maybe laid aside either temporarily or permanently,- but when desired the bar may again be applied to position for locking all of the drawers 14 in closed position.. Then the bar 15 is in locked position, the head 24 of the upper keeper16 then being at the narrow portion 81 et the slot 80, said bar `cannot be moved either upwardly or downwardly nor frontwardly, and the whole locking action resides in merely shootingV the bolt 20 up against the lower surface oi the head or t-o theposition indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4 and by solid lines in Figs. 1 and 2. The'upper edge ot the narrow portion' 81 of the slot 8O prevents, in the locked-position of the bar l5, any downward movement of said bar, and thc bolt 2O at that time prevents any upward movement of said bar, and hence the bar becomes locked so that it cannot be moved either upwardly or downwardly, and being behind the lateral portions of the head 24 cannot beturned frontwardly. The locking mechanism shown in Figs. 1 to` 6 inclusive is of very high efliciency, in that it not only locks all ofthe drawers of the section 12 of the trunk with the aid of a single lock and two keepers, but is so combined with the transverse bars 22, 84 as to strengthen the locking mechanism and also to brace the opposite sides of the drawersection of the trunk.

The inodiiication shown in Figs. '7 and 8 resides more particularly in securing the lock, in this instance numbered 30, at the inner side of the locking-bar 31, vforming key-hole slots 32, 33 in both thekupper and lower portions of the locking-bar and in securing the keepers 34, 35 to separating partitions 36, 37, provided between the drawers 38 of the drawer-'section of the trunk, the keepers ,34,` 35 being duplicates of each other and having on their outer ends heads 39, 40, respectively, corresponding with the head 24, .shown in Fig. 5. The keepers 34, 35 are practically duplicates ot the keeper 16 of Fig. 5, said keepers not however having the brace 4bar 22, but `being fastened tothe partitions 36, 37. The bar 31 is bent outwardly so as to form a recess to receive the lock 30, as shown in Fig. 7.A When the locking bar 31 is to bek placed on the keepers 34, 35, the lower wider portion of the slots 32, 33 will be inserted overthe heads 39, 40, and said bar will then be allowed to lower so .that the narrower upper portionsof the slots y32, 33 may settle down behind the heads 39, 40 into locking position and bear against the shoulders 41, 42 formed byfrecessing the keepers to produce said heads 39, 40.' After the lockingbar 31 has been applied upon the keepers 34, 35 and allowed to settle down thereon to the position shown'in Figs. 7 and 8,.the boli-.43' of the lock 30 will be shotlupwardly into close relation to vthe lower surface ofthe head 39 of the upperkeeper 34. When the bolt 43l is in locked to the keepers 34, When it is desired to unlock the drawers, the bolts 43 will be retracted into the casing of the lock 30` or toy the position shown by full lines in Fig. 8, and thenthe locking bar 31 may be lifted upwardly'soras to carry the wider portions of its key-hole slots 32, 33 into line ywith the heads ,39, 40 of the keepers, and when said bar is in this position it may be lifted outwardly from the keepers and thus free all of the drawers; Figsf9 and 10 show upper and lower keepers corresponding with the keepers 16,r 17 of Figs. 5 and 6, but in this instance being formed in the shape of brackets adapted to be secured to what would be .the back of the drawer section of the trunk 'when said section standing vertically. The keepers shown in Figs. 9 and 10 may ber made use of in instances in which there are no partitions, such as shown in Fig. 7 between the drawers of the trunk, and said `keepers at their outer engaging ends operfurther modification of myy invention, and therein designatesy the lockingbar, 46 the lock secured upon the outer face thereof, 47f the upper keeper, 48 the lower keeper,

` 49 the upper transverse bar having ears '50 by which it may be secured to the sides of the trunk and operate as a brace, and 51 theV lower transverse bar carrying the keeper slot 53 to receive` the lower portion of the locking bar 45, this slot corresponding with the slot 26 of the keeper 17 shown in F ig. 6. The outer end of the upper keeper 47 is formed with a tongue 54 (Fig. 14)'and shoulders 55, said shoulders being formed by cutting away the metalto produce the tongue 54. 5G. lThe locking bar45 just above the lock 46 contains an open transverse slot 57 (Fig. 13). In applying the lock-bar upon the keeper 47y the slot 57 is, pressed over the tongue 54 and sad bar finds a bearing against the shoulders 55, and when the lecking bar has thus been placed Suppen the tongue 54, the bolt 58 of the lock 46 is shot upwardly through the slot 56 inthe tongue 54, and when in this positionthe said bolt will prevent the withdrawal of the locking bar from the keepers. When the locki ing bar 45 is to be released from the drawers of the trunk, the bolt-58 will be withdrawn into the casing of the lock 46 and thereupon the upper portion of the locking bar may be moved frontwardly off from the tongue 54 of the keeper 47, and said bar may be then lifted upwardly to release it from the lower keepers 48, all of the drawers of the trunk thereby becoming unlocked. In all the forms of my invention a single durable locking bar is made use of in connection with upper and lower keepers and a single lock, which is carried by the lockingbar. The keepers are rigidly secured to the trunk, and hence the locking bar carrying the lock is the only feature of the construction which has to be applied to or removed from the trunk. In each instance the locking bar is a strong flat steel bar capable of resisting the opening of any of the drawers of the trunk.

that I claim as my invention and desire` to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

ll. A trunk having a clesable section containing a tier of drawers and locking mechanisin therefor comprising upper and lower keepers rigidly secured to upper and lower portions of the trunk section independently of the drawers and exposed outwardly beyond the front faces of the drawers, a removable looking bar extending vertically lacross'the front faces of the vdrawers and The tongue 54 contains a slot' engaging saidkeepers, and 4a, lock secured to barV havinefan o Den'in'Ov therein to )ass overy said keeper and exposethesame at the front to eno-ade said keeoer and )revent the withdrawal of the bar therefrom, and said* keeper being rigid with and supported by` a transverse bar extended from side to side of the trunk section and secured at its ends thereto.

2. A trunk having aclosable section containing a tier of drawers and locking meehanism therefor comprising upper and lower keepers' rigidly secured to upper and lower portions ofthe trunk section independently of said drawers and exposed outwardly beyond the front'faces ofsaidfdrawers, a. removable looking bar extending vertically across the front faces of the drawers and engaging said keepers, and a lock secured to the back face of said bar adjacent to one of said keepers, said bar being recessed frontwairdly to receive said lockl and havinga vertical opening therein above said lock and adjacent theretoa transverse openingto pass over said keeper, and said lock having! a bolt adapted to pass `through said vertical opening and engage the exposedendl of thc keeper and prevent the withdrawal of the bar therefrom. y

3. A trunk having a closable section containing a tier ofdrawers andlocking mechanism therefor comprising upper and lower keepers rigidly secured to upper and lower portions of the trunk section independel'itly of said drawers and exposed outwardly beyond the front faces of said drawers, a re-Y movable looking bar extending vertically across the front faces of the drawers and engaging said keepers, and a lock secured to said bar adjacent te oneof said keepers, said bar. having an opening therein to pass over said keeper and expose theV same at the front ofthe bar, said lock having a bolt adapted Ato engage the keeper `and iprevent the withdrawal of the bar' therefrom, and the other keeper being'v rigid with and supported by a transverse barextended from side to side of the trunk section and secured at its ends thereto.

4. A trunk having a closable section containing a tier of drawers and locking mechanism therefor comprising upper and lower keepers rigidly secured to upper and lower portionsof the trunk section and exl'iosed' outwardly beyond the front faces of th'1 drawers,A a removable locking barextenuing vertically across the-frontvfaces ofthe drawers and engaging said keepers, and a lock 1 secured 'to said bar adjacent to one of said keepers, and said barhaving an opening therein to pass over said keeper and expose the same at the front of said bar, said keeper having shoulders back from its outer said baradjacent'to one of-said keepers, said :soV

y1,360,448 e 5 e end against which portions of the bar :rt the New York and State of New York, this 13th sides of said oenng may bear, and said day of May, A. D; 1919. look having a olt adapted to en age the 1 1 keeper frontwardly from said sholders to GEORGE SACHNOII 5 prevent the withdrawal of said bar from the Witnesses:

keeper. ARTHUR MARION,

Signed at New York city, in the county of CHARLES C. GILL. 

